Life and Death: Alternate Ending
by Visser2315
Summary: At times one's path in life comes down to nothing more than luck. When the tracker's teeth pierced his skin, Beau Swan thought his fate was sealed—except, maybe it wasn't. [The conclusion of Life and Death rewritten with the original Twilight ending.]
1. Voice of an Angel

A/N: Yes, this has already been done before. I was very tempted to skip this and go straight to the New Moon Reimagined I was hoping to start (a concept which has also already been done by others, but none I could find that have gotten very far yet), perhaps referring people to those that have already been done, but I decided that for sake of continuity, it was better if I wrote out exactly how things go from the point that the change happened.

Disclaimer: _Twilight_ and _Life and Death_ are both owned by Stephanie Meyer, and you'll find that about seventy percent of what you see below is shamelessly plagiarized. (Chopped up, shifted around, and mashed up in a way that hopefully makes sense, and sets things up for a reimagined New Moon.) I also rewrote and rearranged a lot of lines in minor ways, for the sole purpose of keeping it from being too exactly like the original(s), even if that does mean the flow and overall writing quality will inevitably go down.

Well, see you on the other side~

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Chapter 23: Voice of an Angel

" _Just tell Edythe how much this all hurts,"_ crooned the hunter. _"Tell her that you want vengeance—you deserve it. She brought you into this. In a very real sense, she's the one who's hurting you here."_

I heard her, trying to convince me to tell Edythe to go after her, avenge me. I heard her soft threats, the sadistic pleasure in her voice. However, I said nothing. I didn't want that. I didn't want to see _her_ put herself in danger. So long as she was safe, I didn't mind dying here.

"It doesn't want to scream," said the hunter in a funny, little singsong voice. "Should we _make_ it scream?"

I waited for the next broken bone, for her cold hands to close around those fingers which were still whole and untouched. However, she merely held up my good arm, almost gently, and I felt her teeth nip the end of my finger. Compared to everything else, it barely stung.

The hunter immediately straightened and sprung away from me. My body ached with a thousand pains as I watched her pace back and forth, snarling and shaking her head frantically. My blood, that was the problem. She'd gotten some of it in her mouth, and now the feeding frenzy was trying to take hold of her. But she didn't want to kill me just yet. She wanted to torture me a little more first.

I suddenly felt something in the finger where she had bitten me. Heat, like I'd accidentally brushed it against a hot stove. I remembered Carine's story, and I suddenly knew what was happening. What had begun.

While I still had the strength, I stretched out my good arm and my fingers closed clumsily around the camera—the camera the tracker had been using to film my entire death, all for Edythe's benefit. I raised it high to smash it into the linoleum.

Before I could register what was happening, I was suddenly slammed backwards. My back struck the surface of one of the broken mirrors, and I felt the cold glass cut into my shoulders and scalp, making me gag and gasp with the pain. I looked up, dazed, to see the hunter standing before me, the undamaged camera in one pale hand.

I stared up at her for a moment, my thoughts muddled, until I realized I could feel something, something that slowly seemed to rise above everything else. A growing pain that overshadowed all the rest.

Before I had time to think, a scream suddenly ripped itself from my throat. My hand—that heat, that burning I had felt, had suddenly burst open, driving out all reason. My arm was splayed out at an unnatural angle, as was my index finger, my leg was turned sickeningly in the wrong direction, and my ribs felt like shards in my torso. Yet all of that was nothing to the pain that seared through me now.

I saw, as though from a great distance, the tracker's nostrils flare, and she gazed down at me with bloodlust in her eyes. Her lips drew back from her teeth, her mouth spreading wide, and I knew this was the end. At the very back of my conscious mind, I was relieved. Anything that would end this pain.

But as I lay there, screaming from the fire in my hand as it spread through my palm, when she lunged for me I heard another piercing scream drown out mine, like a chainsaw cutting through rebar. The hunter's teeth snapped just an inch from my face, before she was suddenly dragged rapidly back, like a videotape in rewind.

I stared uncomprehendingly as she disappeared from my vision, and heard a terrible snarl of fury, then a wild keening cut short followed by the sound of metallic tearing, shredding, like something being ripped apart.

A familiar voice was suddenly beside me, and it momentarily cut through the haze of the burning in my hand.

"No," the voice moaned, frantic with agony. "No, no, no, no!"

The fire had moved from my palm to my wrist now, but I tried to concentrate on the voice, the voice that, even screaming in horror, still sounded like an angel.

"Beau, please," Edythe begged. "Beau, listen to me, please, please, Beau, please!"

I tried to find my mouth to answer, but it was disconnected from the rest of me. I'd stopped screaming, but only because I was out of air.

"Carine!" Edythe's high, strangled voice again cut briefly through the pain. " _Help me!_ Beau, please, please, Beau, please!"

I could feel her cradling my head in her lap, and I felt the tips of her fingers pressing into my scalp. I looked up into her face, and it was unfocused, just like the hunter's.

"He's lost some blood, but the head wound isn't deep," a calm voice said. "He has some broken bones. Leg, arm—possibly some ribs, too."

I heard a hiss, mingled fury and torment.

I blinked once, and suddenly my vision sharpened back into focus. Edythe gazed down at me, her perfect face twisted and tortured.

I stared up at her, trying to focus on her instead of the pain. But it was overpowering, trying to take over everything. They were trying to take care of my leg and arm, but they didn't seem to realize that those weren't that important. Not compared to the other pain.

"Hand," I managed to spit out through gritted teeth.

"Archie," Carine said calmly, as though she hadn't heard me, "make splints for his leg and arm. Edythe, straighten out his airways. Which is the worst bleed?"

"Here, Carine." Then she added in a hoarse whisper, "Please—something for the pain."

Carine pulled something from a black bag and handed it to her.

Edythe bent over me, and I felt her cold hands on my face. "Keep breathing, Beau. Breathe. Here—this will help."

"Edythe—"

"Shhh, Beau, it's going to be okay, I swear, it's going to be fine."

"It's burning," I said, staring up at her through a haze of agony. "Hand—fire."

Edythe's eyes dropped to my hand for the first time, and she sucked in a sharp gasp. "Carine," she said, and she couldn't seem to get her voice to come out above a whisper.

Carine lifted her eyes and immediately saw what Edythe had seen.

"She bit him," she said very quietly, and beneath the calm was an undercurrent of revulsion.

"You have to do it, Edy." A new voice—I vaguely recognized Archie. "You have to let this happen."

"No," Edythe hissed, but she stared down at me, eyes wide with horror.

"There may be another way," Carine said in a low voice. "The wound is fairly clean. You may be able to suck the venom out."

Archie had frozen. "Can...that work?" he asked, sounding stunned.

"I don't know," Carine answered quietly. "But we have to hurry."

I could see fear in Edythe's eyes.

"I don't know..." she said softly. "I don't know if I can do that."

"It's your decision," Carine replied. "I can't help you either way. If you're going to be taking more blood, I have to get this bleeding under control."

"If you try, there's a good chance you'll kill him yourself," Archie said in a low voice.

Edythe's face was drawn, but I watched as her doubt was suddenly replaced by blazing determination. She held my hand tightly in place, though I couldn't feel the ice of her fingers through the burning. Then, just as the hunter had done, Edythe bent her head to my hand.

I screamed and bucked as I suddenly felt the fire dragged down my wrist, back into my hand. The pain was unreal. I dimly felt something holding my leg to the floor, and Carine kept my head locked in place with her stone arms as I struggled.

Then something miraculous happened. The pain began to recede, leaving my hand blissfully numb as the fire focused into an ever-smaller point. My thrashing slowed, until at last I lay still.

At the same time the pain subsided, I felt my consciousness begin to slip.

"Edythe," I tried say, but I couldn't hear my own voice. However, she heard me.

"I'm here, Beau," she said softly, and I felt her hand close around one of mine. Her voice was strained, but with an odd note of triumph.

"Stay..." I mumbled. "Stay..."

"I will," she whispered.

I sighed. The fire was gone, and the other pain seemed dulled by the sleepiness slowly spreading through my body.

"Is it all out?" Carine asked from somewhere far away.

"His blood tastes clean," Edythe said quietly. "I could taste the morphine."

"Beau?" Carine called to me.

"Mmmm?" I mumbled.

"Is the fire gone?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "It is. Thanks, Edythe."

Edythe was gazing down at me, and her ocher eyes were gentle. "I love you," she said softly.

"I know," I said, and felt my mouth almost tug into a grin.

"It's time to move him," Carine said.

"I'd rather sleep," I muttered, teetering on the edge of consciousness.

"You sleep, Beau," Edythe said soothingly. "I'll take care of you."

I felt myself raised from the floor. I felt like I was floating, all the pain gone.

"Sleep, Beau" were the last words I heard before I finally drifted off into oblivion.

* * *

A/N: Again, shamelessly plagiarized. I tried to mesh both Twilight and Life and Death together as best I could, though clearly Meyer had already made quite a few changes fairly early on in the scene to set up the different ending. (Joss paces around for a while, fighting the instinct to eat Beau, and Edythe and Carine do a lot of taking care of Beau's other injuries before they realize what's happening.) The main differences here are that I tried to make it seem that Joss gives up and tries to attack Beau much sooner (hence, meaning that Edythe and company arrive earlier to stop her), and also Beau, like Bella, is quicker to communicate his problem.

Well, I suppose I have to do the last two chapters now, don't I? I'll keep my fingers crossed they'll be a little simpler than this one. X3

Thanks for reading, let me know what you thought!

Posted 11/27/15


	2. Possibilities

A/N: Still here, still plagiarizing. Do collages of bits of lines count as your own work when it comes to writing? (No? I didn't think so.)

But! Still fun anyway, and a good writing exercise. It gives me an excuse to study how all the different parts of a book work together, and how the little bits and pieces are slipped in to set things up later.

Thanks for reading, and see you at the end!

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Chapter 24: Possibilities

I awoke to find a blinding light glaring in my eyes.

I blinked, wincing, and averted my gaze to see I was laying in an unfamiliar room, white walls on all sides, florescent cylinder bulbs glowing from the ceiling. If this was death, it was definitely more uncomfortable and less grand than I would have imagined.

I looked around and noticed I was laying on a hard, thin bed with rails, propped up with flat, lumpy pillows. An annoying beeping sound was coming from somewhere.

I looked down and saw my hands were all twisted up with clear tubes and, as I lifted a hand to my face, realized I had something taped under my nose. Automatically, I put my fingers to the edge to tug it off.

"Oh no you don't," said a soft, musical voice, and I felt a cool hand catch mine and draw it away.

I turned my head to find Edythe's face barely a few inches from mine, her pointed chin resting on the edge of my pillow.

"Hey," I said, for a moment too stunned to react. Then I remembered again that I was alive, and this time I felt a smile tug at my lips, even though it made the tape stretch. However, my face quickly morphed to one of penitence.

"I'm sorry," I said.

Edythe smiled slightly. "Always with the apologies. Don't worry, Beau, everything's all right now."

I shook my head, but that was a mistake, as it immediately made the room spin. "I...I thought she had my mom. She tricked me."

"She tricked us all," she said softly, stroking back my hair from my forehead. "You had no way of knowing. You did what you thought you had to do."

My brain was still muddled, but I realized something dimly through the haze. "I need to call Charlie and my mom. They should know where I am."

"Done," said Edythe. "Archie took care of it. Renée is already here at the hospital, though she stepped out a minute to get something to eat."

I started. "My mom is here?" I tried my best to sit up, but again my head spun, black dots dancing in front of my eyes. I felt Edythe's gentle hand pushing my shoulders back down.

"She'll be back," she promised. "And you need to stay still."

I laid there for a minute, staring at the ceiling. However, I could feel the beginnings of panic bubbling in my chest. "What...what did you tell her?" I asked in a low voice.

Edythe smiled. "You mean why are you laying in a hospital bed with a broken arm, broken leg, four cracked ribs, several fractures in your skull and covered from head to toe in bruises?"

I tried to process that much damage to my body, but it only made my head hurt worse. "Yeah...that."

"The story is that you fell down two flights of stairs and through a window," she said. "You have to admit, Beau, it could happen."

I wasn't going to argue with that, though I winced at the inevitable humiliating conversations when I went back to school.

Edythe made a face. "I really didn't like when they gave you the blood transfusions. Your scent was all wrong, at least for awhile."

"But at least that must have made it easier on you, right?"

Edythe smiled slightly. "You would think so, wouldn't you? But I prefer your blood smell like _you_."

I gazed at her for a long minute, silent. "How did you do it?" I asked suddenly, quiet.

Edythe stared back at me, and I knew she knew what I meant. Her eyes wandered away from mine, and she took my hand with the bandaged finger, holding it between hers. "I'm not sure," she said quietly. "It was impossible...to stop. I knew I couldn't stop. But then, somehow I did." Her eyes flickered back up to meet mine, and her perfect lips were turned up in a half smile. "I guess I really must love you."

I smiled back, even though it hurt my face. However, not quite able to suppress my morbid curiosity, I had to ask. "So, did I taste as good as I smell?"

"Even better," she admitted. "Heroin doesn't do it justice. Every illegal substance you could imagine rolled into one."

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"Apologizing again," she noted. "And that's not even something to be apologizing about. If you're going to apologize, it should at least be about something worthy."

I looked back at her, wanting to know what she meant, but also afraid to. "What?" I said cautiously.

Her lips again flickered in a smile, this time showing her dimples. "You should be sorry for almost dying on me."

"I'm sorry," I said again, and I meant it.

She shook her head. "I know why you did it. I don't blame you for it. But you should have waited for me, Beau. You should have told me."

I looked back at her. "You wouldn't have let me go," I said quietly.

Her eyes were sad, but with just a glint of steel. "No," she agreed softly. "I wouldn't."

Images from the scene just before I'd passed out came back to me, and I shuddered. "What happened to...to her?" I asked quietly. "Joss."

Edythe's eyes burned with hatred. "I pulled her back before she could reach you. After that, Jessamine and Eleanor took care of her." Her voice was as hard as her eyes, and there was just a tinge of fierce regret. She left no doubt in her tone that she would have liked to help tear the hunter limb from limb herself if she hadn't been otherwise preoccupied.

"Were Jessamine and Eleanor there?" I asked. "I didn't even see them."

"They had to leave almost as soon as the job was done. There was...a lot of blood."

I cocked my head slightly. "But you stayed," I noted.

Edythe's lips flickered in a slight smile. "I stayed," she agreed softly.

"And Archie, and Carine..." I murmured in awe.

Edythe nodded, still smiling. "They love you, too. Though don't tell Archie I said that."

I nodded. The man code. You just didn't use the word 'love' about your guy friends. However, I suddenly remembered something, and my gaze dropped to the sheets. I picked at the threading.

"What?" Edythe said quickly, immediately alert to my discomfort.

"There's something I need to tell Archie. Something the tracker said. I don't suppose...I don't suppose he looked at that video."

There was a pause. "He saw it," she said.

I peeked up at Edythe, only to see that her face had gone as hard as stone, her ocher eyes almost black. Confirming, as I'd feared, that Archie hadn't been the only one to see the video.

"He was in an asylum, always in the dark," I said. "That's why he didn't remember."

"I know," said Edythe quietly, venom in her voice. "He understands where he came from now."

We were both silent for a long moment. My eyes drifted down to my arm, and I immediately wished they hadn't, as I noticed the IV stuck in my vein and suddenly felt dizzy. I looked back up at Edythe to distract myself.

"So, why _are_ you here?" I asked. "I mean, why does my mom think you're here? We might as well get our stories straight."

Edythe smiled with some amusement. "Well, of course you'd gone home to Phoenix. After a day or two, I couldn't take it anymore, and decided to go out after you to plead with you to come back to Forks. I convinced Carine to take me, and Archie came along too to help my case. I called you, and you agreed to see me, so you drove out to the hotel where we were staying. But as you were coming to our room, you tripped on the stairs, and...well, you know the rest. I don't think you need to remember anything after that too clearly. Archie already fabricated the evidence, smashed up the window and spread some blood around where you supposedly fell. If you ask me, I think he had a little too much fun with it."

I grimaced. "You couldn't have made it something more heroic? Like I got attacked by a bear or something?"

Edythe smiled. "We were going for believability."

Her gaze flickered back to the door. "And, I think I hear your mother coming." She stood up from the hard plastic chair beside my bed.

Maybe it was the cocktail of drugs, no doubt playing havoc on my system, or just the stress of recent events, but I suddenly felt an irrational surge of panic. Without thinking, I stretched my good arm to catch hers. "Wait—you aren't leaving, are you?"

Edythe glanced down at me. "I'm not leaving," she said. She showed her dimples. "I'll just take a nap."

Reluctantly I let go of her arm, and she walked around to the foot of my bed, settling herself into a turquoise, faux-leather recliner. She pushed it back all the way and folded her hands over her stomach, closing her eyes. She laid perfectly still.

"Don't forget to breathe," I muttered, rolling my eyes, and her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, eyes still closed. I was amazed at how innocent she looked like that.

I listened carefully, and I could just make out the sound of my mom's voice, probably talking to a nurse. She sounded tired and upset. I wanted to jump up and tell her I was fine, but I doubted my busted leg would be taking me anywhere very soon, and the rest of me wasn't much better. So I simply sat and waited.

The door swung inward just a crack, and my mom's face appeared, looking anxious.

"Hey, Mom," I called in a low voice, and as her eyes fell on me, her mouth broke out into a wide smile.

She slipped inside, quietly closing the door behind her. Her eyes flickered to the recliner on the far side of the room where Edythe lay motionless, and she crept to my bedside, keeping as quiet as she could.

"Still here," she murmured, eyes still on Edythe. "I don't think I've seen her gone once in the last few days."

"Hey, Mom," I said, my voice weak with relief. "It's great to see you."

She looked back to me for a moment, then suddenly her arms were around my shoulders, tears falling down on my hospital shirt.

"Beau, you can't imagine—I didn't know what I—"

"It's okay, Mom," I said, wincing at the sudden contact and trying to pat her back with my bandaged hand. "Everything's all right now."

I paused, suddenly processing something she had said. "Days..." I repeated slowly. "Just how long have I been out?"

She pulled back, looking apologetic. "It's Friday, honey. You've been out a while. You had so many injuries, they had to keep you sedated."

I nodded slowly, digesting that. "So where's Phil?" I said, hoping to turn the subject to something more pleasant.

Her face immediately brightened. "Florida—oh, sweetheart! You'll never guess. I have such wonderful news."

I could always read my mom's face like a book and I said, "Phil got signed?"

"The Suns," she gushed. "Can you believe it?"

"That's great, Mom," I said, and I meant it.

She went on, her enthusiasm building with every word. "You'll like Jacksonville so much. I was worried when Phil started talking about Akron, what with the snow and everything, because you know how we both hate the cold, but Jacksonville! It's always sunny, and the humidity really isn't _that_ bad. We found the cutest house, yellow, with white trim, and a porch just like an old movie, and this huge oak tree. It's just a few minutes from the ocean, and you'll have a bathroom all to yourself, not to mention we're just a block down from the library—"

"Hold on, Mom," I said, and she broke off, looking at me with confusion.

"Yes, Beau?"

I hesitated. "I live in Forks, Mom. I'm not going to Florida."

She laughed. "Sweetheart, you don't have to live there anymore. Phil will be able to be around so much more now. We've talked about it a lot, and what I'm going to do is trade off on the away games, half the time with you, half the time with him."

"Mom," I said firmly. I paused, trying to get my thoughts in order so what I was going to say wouldn't come out wrong. "Look, Mom...I found out I really don't mind living in Forks. Actually, I kind of like it these days. I'm already settled in at school, and I've got a group of friends...and Charlie, he kind of needs someone around. You know he can't cook worth a darn."

"You want to stay in Forks?" she asked, bewildered. My mom couldn't bear living there, it was why she had left Charlie back all those years ago. And after all the griping I'd done about our yearly summer trips, maybe it was only natural that now she stared at me with open disbelief. However, I noticed her eyes flicker back toward Edythe, where she was still curled up unmoving in the chair.

She looked at me, frowning. "Be honest, sweetheart," she whispered. "Does this sudden change of heart about Forks have anything to do with this girl?"

I could feel my treacherous face heating up, but I did my best to be nonchalant. "She's a part of it, I guess." I hesitated, then asked, "Have you talked to her at all?"

"Yes," she answered, and her eyes flickered back toward Edythe. "And I think there's something we need to talk about."

I would have fidgeted nervously, but one of my arms was broken and my finger on the other was bandaged up. I settled for letting my eyes drift toward a row of blinds on the far wall. "Yeah?" I said, trying to sound casual.

Her voice low, she said confidentially, "I think that girl is in love with you."

I glanced back at her, and felt an almost sheepish smile try to tug at my lips, though the tape over my mouth kept it from spreading very far. "I think so, too."

"And?" she said, with just a touch of impatient curiosity. "How do you feel about her? I hope you're not intending to string her along."

I grimaced. As much as I loved her, this was not the kind of conversation any guy ever wanted to have with his mom.

"No way," I said. Then, because I knew she would probably bug me about it forever if I didn't satisfy her curiosity now, I added reluctantly, "I guess...I guess I am pretty crazy about her."

She smiled at me. "Oh, I'm so happy for you, sweetheart." However, a moment later, her brow clouded, and she glanced back at Edythe again. "But goodness, the two of you _do_ seem so young still..."

"I'm seventeen, Mom," I pointed out. "So's she."

She nodded, but her expression still held a touch of worry. "I suppose so, but...well, she seems like such a nice girl. I hope you aren't planning to take advantage of her."

I felt my face redden. " _Mom!_ "

Over my mom's shoulder, I saw the corner of Edythe's lips twitch.

My mom only smiled at my obvious embarrassment, completely unrepentant. However, a moment later she suddenly blinked, and shot a guilty glance at the wall clock. I knew that look.

"Supposed to be somewhere?"

"Phil's supposed to call in a little while. If I'd known you were going to be awake..."

"Don't worry, Mom. Go. I'll be fine."

She nodded. "I'll be back later, sweetheart." Her eyes flickered once more to the recliner on the far side of the room before she got up and slipped out.

I turned my eyes on Edythe, frowning slightly. "How was the nap?" I muttered sarcastically.

Her eyes opened and she turned sideways, sitting up straight though the chair was still set in the reclining position.

"Informative," she said, lips curled up in a smile. However, then her gaze dropped and in her face was that unusual look of vulnerability, uncertainty, which I could never seem to get used to.

"I was surprised," she admitted. "Florida...your mother...I thought that's what you would want. Sunshine, warmth."

I gazed at her for a long moment. "But you couldn't go out in the day in a place like that," I said pointedly.

Edythe shook her head, and her expression was suddenly grave. "I would stay in Forks, or a place like it. Beau...considering what almost happened...maybe it would be just as well. If you were in a bright, happy place. A place I couldn't hurt you anymore."

Again, maybe it was the stress of everything, or the pain meds in my system muddling my thinking. But as her words sank in, a tremor of fear buzzed in my chest.

Edythe's gaze was locked with mine, and she studied my face carefully. She didn't look away even as a nurse came bustling into the room.

Maybe the sudden bout of agony I was feeling showed on my face, because the nurse, after taking in my expression and turning to the monitors, said, "You ready for some more pain meds, hon?"

My eyes dropped and I shook my head. "No thanks." I wanted to keep my thoughts clear.

"Sure?" she said. "You should really should take them as you need them, no need to be a tough guy."

"I'm okay," I mumbled. "Really."

The nurse studied my face for a moment longer, then sighed. "All right then. Just hit the call button when you're ready."

After the nurse was gone, Edythe came again to sit on the hard chair next to the bed. She reached up to gently cradle my face in her hands.

"Don't leave," I whispered, and my voice broke on the last word. My chest felt tight.

"I won't," she said gently. "Calm down now, Beau, or I'll have to call back the nurse to sedate you."

I gazed back at her, and we stayed like that for several minutes, as I struggled to get my painful breathing back under control.

At last, she said softly, "Better?"

I hesitated, then nodded. I could feel the feeling starting to come back into my limbs.

"What made you say that?" I asked. I tried to make my tone light and almost joking as I added, "Don't tell me you're tired of me already. Saving me all the time starting to get old?"

Edythe didn't return the smile. "I don't mind saving you, Beau. I'd do it the rest of your life if I could." She hesitated. "But when I'm the one putting you in danger in the first place..."

"Hey," I said. "I'd be rotting away in the Forks cemetery now if it wasn't for you. Three or four times over."

Edythe wasn't looking at me, and I wasn't even sure she'd heard what I said. Her eyes were on my bandaged hand again.

"The worst part," she murmured, almost to herself, "wasn't seeing what that vile beast did to you, or seeing you covered in blood and screaming in agony, or thinking I might be too late—all that was nothing to what I felt when I saw I might not be able to stop. That I might just kill you myself."

The room was silent for a moment, Edythe staring past me, her eyes distant.

"Hey," I said at last. "Will you promise me something?"

Edythe blinked, coming out of her reverie, and her gaze returned to me. "Promise?"

I looked back at her evenly. "Promise you'll stay. That you and I will stick together from now on—forever."

On a normal day, I might have winced at how melodramatic I sounded. But I'd nearly be torn to shreds by a vampire, and I knew if I could be tortured and maimed, come an inch from death, and still not regret my choice, then there was no going back. For my life to be worth anything, it had to include Edythe.

Edythe looked back at me for a long moment, then her eyes flickered away. She smiled, but it was a hard, bitter smile. "Don't worry," she said roughly. "You'll get your way. I can't seem to stay away from you, whether it ends up killing you or not."

I nodded, knowing I would have to be satisfied with that, but I couldn't help but notice that she hadn't actually promised anything.

"One more question," I said.

Edythe eyed me warily.

"You stopped the poison from spreading, brought me back. But...why? If you hadn't, I would be just like you now."

Edythe looked back at me, her expression carved in stone, her dark eyes suddenly flat black. And I knew the discussion was closed before it had even begun.

"I think you need to take some more pain killers, Beau."

"I'm fine," I said, though my head was pounding, and my torso was beginning to ache in several different places.

Edythe reached over and pressed the button before I could stop her. The speaker on the wall squawked, and Edythe answered calmly, in spite of the sullen glare I was directing her way, "I think we could use some more pain medication." The voice answered that a nurse would be sent in. I frowned deeply, but Edythe didn't react. We were quiet again for a moment.

"Archie saw something, didn't he?" I said suddenly. "He saw me becoming one of you. How can you fight against that?"

"Archie sees possibilities," Edythe answered coolly. "He also saw you dead, but that didn't happen, because we didn't let it. The future isn't inevitable. Besides, think of your parents. How would they have felt, if you had simply left for Phoenix and never came back? If we had to fake your death, and you never got a chance to say goodbye?"

I couldn't answer that, and I only sat where I was, silent, until the nurse entered, syringe in hand.

Edythe climbed smoothly to her feet to get out of the way, circling around to the foot of the bed as the nurse injected the medication into my tube. "Here you go," said the nurse, smiling at me. "That'll make you feel better."

"Thanks," I muttered, not really all that grateful, but after a moment I could already feel my eyelids drooping as the drugs took effect.

I didn't even notice when the nurse was gone, but I felt a cool hand against my face.

"Stay?" I managed to slur out.

Edythe laughed softly. "I will, Beau. As long as you need me...as long as it's the best thing for you..."

There was a clear distinction between those two things, and I tried to point it out, but my voice was already leaving me, and my head was floating away. However, I blinked once and forced myself to focus.

"Edythe?" I said, making myself pronounce her name correctly.

"Yes?" she replied gently.

"I think Archie is going to win this one."

Then I closed my eyes, and I was gone.

* * *

A/N: I was a little uncertain about which arms and such Beau had each injury on. I remembered he had a broken arm, and he got a broken index finger, and that the vampire bite was on a finger on the opposite arm from the one that was broken. So I was sort of wondering if that meant that the vampire bite was on his broken finger.

But I went back and looked it up, and apparently there's just an inconsistency there. (Because it specifically says that Joss broke his right arm, then later it says that she took his good arm when she bit him, and after that Beau tells Edythe that it's his right hand that's bothering him.) I've done parallel stories like this before, and I always seem to find things like this. I guess that's one of the fun things doing things like this, because I'd never notice these otherwise. (I can't fault authors/editors for missing things like this, there are just so many details to keep straight in a book that some are bound to slip through. I know for me, for every inconsistency I spot and fix before putting it up, there are probably at least half a dozen more I missed...) For purposes of this story, we'll say that it was his left arm that was broken, and the right that was bitten. (So the broken index finger, which was stated as being the left, was also on the broken arm.)

Well then, thanks for reading so far, and let me know what you thought!

Posted 12/3/15


	3. Epilogue: Enough for Forever

A/N: A few more things are different this time (a few things cut out, a couple things added here and there), but the admission of wanton plagiarism is still in effect.

Thanks for reading, and see you at the end!

* * *

Epilogue: Enough for Forever

"No."

"No what?"

"No, I'm not going in."

We were standing in the parking lot of Forks High School, me, leaning against the side of Edythe's car, the cast on my leg and the sling around my arm granting me even less balance and coordination than usual, and Edythe standing just in front of me, arms folded. Edythe was dressed in a simple, elegantly cut dress of fine silk, a deep velvet blue that complimented her ivory skin to perfection, with long silver gloves that reached all the way up past her elbows. A single diamond hung from the choker around her pale neck, glittering in the dying afternoon light. I was in a black tux, constantly pulling at the starched white collar and black tie with my free hand.

I'd planted my feet firmly beside the car door, folding my good arm over my broken one in a way I hoped would communicate my resolve.

"I'm not going in," I repeated. "Not happening."

"You can't miss prom, Beau. You only get to be in high school once. Live it, embrace it. Don't miss out on the experience."

"You mean the experience of humiliating myself in front of the entire school? That's one I think I can pass on without much regret, thanks."

Edythe raised an eyebrow, perfect lips pursed in a thin line. "Don't be a baby, Beau."

I could feel my usual red splotches creeping up my neck as my agitation rose. "I can't dance. You _know_ I can't. And that's when I'm on two good legs, and in full use of both my arms."

Edythe leaned forward, very close to me, and she gazed up at me through her lashes, golden eyes almost mesmerizing. "Beau?" she murmured, and I felt her sweet breath on my face.

"W...What?" I muttered, distracted.

"Humor me, please."

I sighed and looked away, grumbling under my breath.

Edythe offered me a slender arm, and reluctantly I linked with her.

"I really can't dance," I told her again, not quite able to keep the sullenness out of my voice. "You'll be watching me knock people over all night."

Edythe smiled, though her gaze remained staring straight ahead as we passed other couples in the lot on the way to the door. I noticed, to my relief, Taylor on the arm of Logan.

"Relax, Beau," Edythe said. "You may not be able to dance, but _I_ can. I won't let go of you the entire night, I promise."

I wasn't entirely sure if this made me feel more secure or not, but at least there would be one redeemable part of this evening of torture. I'd be spending it entirely with Edythe.

I happened to glance to the side, and noticed Royal's conspicuous red convertible in the parking lot.

"Hey—who else is going to be here?"

Edythe smiled a little. "Everyone. Archie with Jessamine, and Royal with Eleanor."

I didn't know if this was something to be happy about or not. I liked Archie; we'd gotten to be pretty good friends over the last few months as I had been recovering from my injuries. Jessamine, while she tended to keep her distance when I was around, wasn't unfriendly either, and I was starting to think of Eleanor as kind of the big sister I'd never had, even if most of the time I saw her she was laughing at me for tripping over something. Royal, though, he generally pretended I didn't exist, and when he did look at me, I got the distinct impression that he would like nothing better than to take off my head and use it as a football.

I hobbled slowly across the parking lot, my good arm clamped around Edythe's like a vice the entire time to keep myself from falling. In spite of her support, I stumbled a couple of times and she used her other free hand to surreptitiously keep me standing upright.

Back in Phoenix, proms were held in hotel ballrooms, but in Forks, the only place big enough to hold a dance was the school gym. As Edythe practically lifted me over the threshold, my eyes wandered up to see the walls had been decorated in balloon arches and clusters of dangling crepe paper.

"Looks like a horror film waiting to happen," I commented. I scanned the room, taking in the many couples spinning on the dance floor, and noticed two particular couples remaining a little apart from the rest. Archie and Jessamine, and Royal and Eleanor.

I glanced down at Edythe, still at my side, one eyebrow cocked. "Want me to lock the doors, so you can massacre the unsuspecting townsfolk?"

Edythe's eyes glittered with amusement, but her mouth tightened, as though she thought I really shouldn't be joking around about that.

"Anything to get out of dancing, huh?" she said shrewdly.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Too bad."

Edythe pulled me to the ticket counter. I wasn't exactly sure how she was doing it, but she'd slipped an arm around the back of my waist, and even though it probably looked like she was leaning into me, like a shy girl looking for protection from her big, tough boyfriend, she was supporting almost all of my weight, so all I had to do was kind of awkwardly shuffle my feet.

Once we had our tickets, she turned me toward the dance floor.

"I can't believe you're making an injured guy dance," I said under my breath.

"I'm a terrible girlfriend, aren't I," she murmured back, tone dripping with false sympathy. She glanced up at me, eyes twinkling.

We were suddenly there, at the very edge of the dance floor, but still far too conspicuous for my tastes. Edythe took my hand, which suddenly felt gawky and overly large, and set it at the back of her waist, then placed one of her own on mine, and resting the other on my shoulder.

"How do you feel, Beau?" she asked, smiling.

"Like a gorilla trying to dance with a mountain lion."

Edythe laughed, and I felt the hand she had at my waist move up to the small of my back. "Just relax, Beau. I won't let you hurt yourself, I promise."

Edythe began, taking the lead, and I did my best to keep up. I was a little surprised as I found myself moving better than I could ever remember moving at a dance in my life. We weren't going very fast—Edythe kept her movements slow and rhythmic, easy to follow, even for me. Every time the clunky cast on my foot caught a nonexistent obstacle, her hand pressed up into my back with perfect timing, keeping me from toppling over, and when I miss-stepped and probably would have trodden of the toes of an ordinary girl, she moved smoothly out of the way. No one would be awarding me points at a dance competition anytime soon, but somehow Edythe compensated for both of us, and kept me from making a fool of myself.

I'd mostly been watching my feet up until then, but for a moment, I let my gaze slip back up to her perfect face. Edythe was, as always, flawless, captivating, a Greek goddess in a room full of ordinary mortals. But the thing that I marveled at the most was that she was capable of loving someone like me. Behind the unbearably glorious face was a beautiful inside, too. She could dominate this dance floor if she wanted to, as Royal and Eleanor were now doing, drawing stares with their ridiculous grace and beauty, but instead she was always patient, always gentle, willing to plod along at the speed of an ordinary, pitiful human.

I smiled down at her. "Okay," I admitted. "This isn't half bad."

Edythe's returning smile was so brilliant I stumbled a bit, dazed.

However, Edythe's expression froze, and her eyes narrowed. Her face was hard as marble as she turned her head partially around, eying the doors, and I lifted my eyes over her head to see what she was looking at.

A lanky figure stood in the doorway. Tall, with deep russet skin and black hair pulled back in a ponytail at the nape of her neck as always.

Julie Black wasn't wearing a formal gown, but rather a pair of black slacks and a ruffled, white-collared shirt. She looked almost as awkward and out of place as I felt, picking self-consciously at a button on her sleeve. However, her eyes fell on me, and she started toward us. I noticed an oddly uncomfortable, apologetic look on her face.

Edythe let out a quiet hiss from between her teeth, and I glanced down at her, surprised.

"Hey," I muttered. "What's with that look?"

Edythe's lips curled into a twisted smile. "Nothing, Beau. But she's looking to have a talk with you."

Before I could answer, Julie was already to us.

"Hey, Jules," I said. "Long time no see."

"Hey," she said, face breaking out into the cheerful smile I knew. However, she shifted a moment, looking uncertainly from me to Edythe and back. I couldn't help but notice she'd gotten taller since I'd last seen her. She had more than a few inches on Edythe, and even though she wasn't as tall as me, she was getting there.

Edythe let go of my waist, reluctantly pulling away from me. "I'm a little tired, Beau," she said. "Would you mind if I went and sat down for a minute?"

"Oh...not at all." I watched as Edythe slipped away through the crowd.

"So," said Jules, still grinning with a hint of discomfort. "Want to dance?"

I grinned back. I always felt easy around Jules. "To be honest, I don't really dance. Edythe was pretty much doing all of it."

Jules looked sheepish. "Neither do I. Six inches in six months, you have no idea how much I keep banging my elbows and knees on desk corners. I'm not even really dressed for it." She glanced over at the other dancers, some of whom had paused to stare at us. "Still, it's going to be kind of awkward if we're just standing here."

"Point taken," I said with a grin.

Jules put a hand lightly resting against my side, barely touching, and the other on my shoulder. I was a little surprised by how strong her grip was.

We didn't really dance, just kind of swayed back and forth a little. I knew if I tried to move my leg with the cast so much as an inch without Edythe there to hold me up, I'd be on the floor.

"So," I said. "How did you end up here? I wouldn't have thought this was your thing."

She shrugged slightly under my hand. "Isn't really," she said. She grinned sheepishly. "Would you believe my mom paid me twenty bucks to gate crash your prom?"

Based on Edythe's reaction, I already had an inkling for why Jules was here, but I said, "Really? That's kind of weird."

"Tell me about it."

I would have liked to divert the conversation to something else then. Jules' obvious discomfort made me pretty certain that whatever she was going to say, she knew I probably wasn't going to like it. However, she probably didn't have much choice, and I figured I might as well make it easy instead of hard.

"Wonder what she would have wanted to do that for," I continued, raising my voice at the end like a question.

Jules grinned again, but she glanced down, not quite meeting my eyes. "She's a crazy old bat, I swear. But—she said here was a 'safe' place to talk to you. And she said if I passed along a message, she'd get me that master cylinder I've been needing."

"You better tell me then," I said, grinning back. "I can do my part to get your car done."

Jules still didn't meet my gaze, and I noticed even through her deep russet skin that her ears were a little pinker than usual. However, she took a breath and seemed to steel herself. "Yeah, okay." She looked up at me, forcing a smile. "So she told me to tell you—and these are her words, not mine—'If you know what's good for you, you'll break up with Edythe Cullen. She's not good for you.' Completely stupid, right? Like it's any of her business."

I pretended to look surprised, then think for a moment. "She's still superstitious, huh?"

Jules shook her head with disgust. "You have no idea. When you got hurt down in Phoenix, she nearly blew a gasket. She didn't really think you..." She hesitated, looking uneasy again.

I stared down at her for a moment, and I felt a flare of irritation, but I forced myself to grin. "What?" I said, injecting into my voice a note of disbelieving laughter. "She thinks _Edythe_ pushed me down the stairs? Or Dr. Cullen? Seriously?"

"I told her," Jules said with a strained smile. "She's a loon. Getting senile in her old age."

"Hey," I said, my voice suddenly serious. "When you get back, tell Bonnie something for me."

Jules looked apprehensive. "What?"

I looked her in the eye. "Tell her I said that I probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Edythe and her mom. That's the truth."

Jules hesitated, then smiled a little. "Yeah, I'll tell her that."

I smiled. "Anything else you were supposed to tell me to get your cylinder or whatever?"

Her smile disappeared, and she frowned, eyes focused on a point just above my left shoulder. "One more thing." However, again she forced her eyes to meet mine, and she grinned, though the tension hadn't left her shoulders.

"Don't take this seriously or anything, but she said to pass this along too—'We'll be watching.'"

I couldn't stop the laugh that escaped my mouth. "Maybe your mom's with the mafia."

Jules seemed relieved by my reaction, and she laughed too. I could tell Jules didn't believe any of this, and I felt bad she had to be caught in the middle.

"Sorry you had to do this, Jules," I said. "But at least you'll be closer to getting your car done, right?"

"I actually don't mind too much," she said, meeting my gaze with a peculiar look in her eye. Then she added, "You don't like proms either, huh?"

"Loathe them," I said. Then added, "Though it's mainly just the dancing."

Jules grinned back, and I had a feeling she knew exactly what I meant.

"So," she said. "Should I tell her you said to stuff it and mind her own business?"

I shook my head. "Tell her I really do appreciate her concern."

Jules grinned. "You're such a nice guy, Beau."

The song ended then, and we both dropped our arms. However, Jules looked up at me for a moment longer, that odd expression still in her eyes. "So," she said, looking just a little awkward again. "Want to go for another one, or do you just want to go sit down somewhere?"

"That's quite all right," said a soft, musical voice nearby. "I'll take it from here.

We both blinked and turned to see that Edythe had materialized beside us.

"Wow, you're quiet," Jules marveled, though her eyes seemed to avoid looking Edythe in the face. She waved a hand at me. "Well, I guess I better get going. See you around, Beau."

"See you," I answered, smiling back. I was glad to see Jules, she was a naturally bright, cheerful person, and easy to talk to, except perhaps when passing along messages for her intimidating, matriarchal mother.

I watched her weave her way through the crowd toward the door, but looked away when I felt Edythe's arm wind around my waist again, other hand resting on my shoulder.

This song was a little up-tempo for a slow dance, but Edythe didn't seem to notice, keeping the movement slow for my sake.

"How are you feeling?" I said, smiling.

"Still irritated," she muttered.

"It's okay," I said. "Bonnie doesn't mean any harm, she's just worried about me for Charlie's sake."

She snorted softly. "Oh, I'm not worried about _her_. It's her daughter that's getting under my skin."

I tried to look down at her, but I couldn't see her face.

"Why?" I said, bewildered.

Edythe pulled back from me, and she was smiling, through her eyes were still a little hard. "Well," she said softly, "first, she caused me to break my promise to you."

I blinked. "Promise?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Didn't I say I wouldn't leave you alone?"

"Oh, that. It's okay."

She smiled. "Well, there's something else, too."

I waited for her to elaborate, but she was quiet as she led me once again in a slow, meandering circle across the dance floor.

"What?" I prompted finally. "What is it?"

She laughed. "That's a secret. But I'd be willing to guess you could put the pieces together if you wanted to."

I shook my head. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Edythe didn't reply, only leaned in close, until I was momentarily distracted by the sweet scent of her breath on my face, then pulled away again, laughing softly.

I shook my head to get my bearings. "Will you at least give me a reason for all this?" I asked. I gestured vaguely toward the room around me, the slow dancing couples, the cheesy decorations. "Why drag me to prom?"

Edythe gazed up at me for a long moment, her expression impossible to read. Then, slowly, she turned us in the direction of the back door. Familiar faces flashed by. I saw Jeremy dancing with McKayla, and he shot me a grin over her shoulder, giving me the thumbs up, and I saw Allen dancing with a shorter girl named Becca. Then we were outside, and Edythe let the side door swing closed behind us with a heavy metallic clunk.

It was getting close to the end of sunset now, the horizon tinged a dull red, the moon already in the sky.

Edythe turned to look up at me, smiling slightly. "Would it hurt your man's pride if I carried you a little ways? I'm afraid if you have to walk, I won't be getting you back to Charlie's before curfew."

I snorted. "It's not really a curfew. It was just a suggestion."

Edythe's eyebrows rose slightly. "Isn't a _suggestion_ for what time to be back by for a police chief the same thing as a curfew?"

I sighed. It was true, Charlie had been subtly casting hints and at times even tentatively trying to exercise his parental authority ever since the accident, at least where Edythe was concerned. While he practically worshiped Carine for her role in saving me after my fall, he seemed to link my leaving Forks in the first place to Edythe, and he'd been a little cool toward her the last few months. Or maybe he just suspected how utterly spellbound I was, and didn't think it was altogether healthy.

"Come on," she said. "The wounded have to be treated with care. They can't be allowed to overexert themselves, man or not."

I thought about arguing, but decided it wasn't worth the effort. "Guess so," I conceded.

I suddenly felt Edythe's cool, slender arm behind my knees, and the other behind my back, and the next thing I knew, we were flying swiftly and silently across the dark grounds. A cool breeze blew against my face, though my hair didn't blow. Archie had used so much gel slicking it back, it probably could have doubled as a football helmet. Edythe came to a stop next to a bench under the shadow of a cluster of madrone trees, and carefully set me down. She slid down beside me, raising her eyes to gaze at the horizon in the distance.

She was quiet for a long moment, and I wanted to repeat my question from before again, but instead I waited, quiet.

At last she said softly, "Twilight again. Yet another ending. No matter how perfect the day is, it always comes to an end."

The night was balmy, but I felt a chill. "Maybe it doesn't," I said in a low voice.

Edythe sighed, her shoulders slumping. She slowly turned to look at me, and her perfect face was in shadow. She looked suddenly exhausted, and for the first time since I'd met her, she almost looked like someone who could be nearly a hundred years old.

"I know you didn't want to come, Beau," she said. "I know you don't want to do a lot of things like this. But I simply can't stand the thought of you missing anything—any of those things that mean so much in a human life. You're human, Beau, and I want to see you living every minute to the fullest. I don't want to be an interruption, I don't want to change the course your life would have taken if I hadn't come along. I don't want you to be consumed by _our_ world."

I stared back at her, feeling my eyebrows contract above my eyes.

"But you have changed my life," I said. "I'm—you know I'm happier now than I ever was. There's only one thing that could make me happier."

Edythe gazed back at me, her expression unfathomable. "And what's that, Beau?"

"I think you know what."

Edythe's face could have been cast in stone as the last light on the horizon edged closer to nightfall.

"That's what you want, Beau?" she asked softly. "You want to change? You want to discard your humanity forever in exchange for this life we live?"

My face was resolute. "That's what I want. I decided I want to be with you, and that's the only way to do it. And I don't want to be a liability you have to take care of forever, I'd like to be able to save you sometimes, too. Right now, you're Superman and I'm Lois Lane. But I need to be Superman too sometimes, not because I'm a guy, but because in a relationship, there has to be some equality."

"So you're ready for this to be the end," she murmured. "For this to be the twilight of your life, though your life has barely begun. You're ready to give up everything."

"Just some things," I answered quietly. "It would be the beginning, not the end."

Edythe gazed at me for a moment more, then turned around to face me fully. She leaned close, until our faces were barely inches apart. She was smiling slightly now. "So you're ready then," she breathed. "Right this moment?"

I blinked, startled. "I...yeah. I'm ready." However, my voice sounded uncertain to my own ears, and I swallowed and said again with more force. "Yeah. I've made my decision."

Edythe's eyelids sunk, and she leaned back away from me, a small, dark laugh escaping her lips. "You really think I'd change my mind just like that."

"I can always hope," I said. "It would be the rational thing to do."

"Turn the person I care about most into a monster?" she asked, then gave a bitter laugh. "Oh yes, that would be rational. How often love and rationalization go hand in hand."

She looked back at me, and I stared back down at her. Neither of us was going to surrender tonight, that much was obvious. At last, she exhaled, the sound coming out like a tiger's growl. She tilted her head back to gaze at the moon, half hidden behind gauzy gray clouds, and leaned back against me.

I put an arm around her small shoulders. "I love you," I whispered.

She angled her head to look back up at me, smiling. "I know," she said. "And that's enough—enough for forever." And, smiling slightly with the irony, leaned up and lightly brushed her cold lips against my throat.

* * *

A/N: Well, this was fun.

One of the things I found interesting about Life and Death were those points where, in the original Twilight, Bella's and Edward's behavior reverses normal gender stereotypes, while in Life and Death Edythe and Beau actually play into those stereotypes. (Bella's odd sense of protectiveness where Edward's safety is concerned becomes fairly natural in Beau. Or at this point in Twilight, where Bella is resistant to dancing and Edward is pushing for it, Beau's inclination to avoid social events and dancing again matches preconceived stereotypes rather than defies them.) Conversely, some stereotypes that were played into in Twilight became defied in Life and Death. (I enjoyed the Life and Death version of the nearly-passing-out in Biology more than the original for that reason, and Edythe's amusement at finding out that Beau faints at the sight of blood.)

Next on the agenda is New Moon Reimagined—thanks for reading, and hope to see you over there!

Posted 12/11/15


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